Chapter Twenty-five
Alexandr Miroslav
“Alright.” Ajax huffed. “I didn’t put you guys on the guest list for obvious reasons.
Lest we have anything tracing back to us–even one of us.
I left the side window open on the first floor, so you’ll have access to the view of the stairs in the back of the building.
That means, August, Marigold, you’ll see Paris coming, if all goes to plan. ”
Rain nodded along before turning to Marigold and said, “Did you bring what I asked?”
The once shy girl jerked a nod, pulling out a wrapped piece of leather before hiding it back in the satchel she brought along.
It was the first time I’d seen Marigold so determined and present.
Her eyes were almost gleaming with what I later understood was bloodlust. And from the packaging she pulled out, I could see why.
When Ajax departed for the party, Wolf shivered against the night chill and shuffled around as we waited.
“He couldn’t have told us to meet later? We needed to come here so early and wait in the cold?” August whined.
Paris shrugged, her heavy fur coat that didn’t seem ideal for the night’s task, though no one dared tell her, fluffed around her shoulders and seemed to keep her warm enough. “It’s not too bad.”
August sent her a stink eye before shoving his hands into his unreliable pockets.
After a few moments, I peeked around the building, shrouded and concealed by the dark countryside sky. I finally found the coast to be clear, saying as much.
Looking back, we were entirely too obvious; a disparate bunch creeping through the crisp grass from around the back of Abbot House until we reached the side wall of Fenlon Hall. It was merely by chance that we hadn’t been caught.
It wasn’t exactly hard to find the right window, what with the cold weather and every other one seeming to be bolted shut against the chill.
I looked up at our only way in, which was situated about a meter above our heads. “First floor, my ass,” I grumbled.
Wolf and I helped lift everyone in, Rain slipping in gracefully, Paris as well.
Marigold stumbled, trying to find her balance as her feet were pressed against our interlocked hands.
Paris and Rain helped pull her up, and August came afterward.
“You know, I could do this myself. I just want to give you all the heroic credit–”
“Just get along with it, my feet are numb,” Wolf grunted out, his kind face gone along with the warmth.
August grumbled and pressed his hands against both our shoulders before jumping up and reaching for the windowsill.
When only Wolf and I were left, he raised his eyebrows a beat and grinned. “Ladies first.”
I shrugged. “That’s not as smart a remark as you think it is. Have fun lifting yourself up.”
The curls of his lips dropped as he bent his knees and interlocked his fingers.
When I was safe on the sleek wooden floor of the parlour that was considered a study room, we all watched for Wolf, preparing to reach down for him. Instead, he smirked and gestured for us to back away in a hushed whisper.
I scrunched my face at his stupidity but watched nonetheless as he backed up a few feet. After a deep breath, he came bolting towards the wall, and I almost thought he was going to run into it had he not jumped and pressed his foot against the bricks, leveraging himself up to the windowsill.
I raised my brows and whistled in surprise until Rain swirled towards me with a glare. “Shhh,” she hissed out.
I held my hands up and moved to help Wolf in. For some reason, he’d kicked up again, even with my support, and I lost balance, pulling him down to the floor along with me.
We fell with a thud, and Rain seemed to be losing her mind in silence before we froze, waiting for any approaching footsteps that might’ve come to search for the sound that gave us away.
Done before we even got started. True Founder’s Society failures.
Except, nothing came. And after a few more seconds of silence, just to be sure, we stood and dusted ourselves off. Paris was holding in her laugh with a black, gloved hand covering her mouth, and I wanted to smile along with her. At least to catch her eye and see if we were still on the same page.
On our way out, she met my gaze and lifted her lips in a small, genuine smile. But its size didn’t take away from its significance.
The four of us made it up to the observatory–a large and circular room at the top of Fenlon Hall–without issue.
A room I’d never been to with a dome glass ceiling that allowed for a view of the night sky and all its stars.
The party was, just as Ajax had mentioned, in full swing.
Music and drinks were flowing, and people were dancing.
It felt as if I’d walked into a Gatsby party and hadn’t realized it.
The space was dark, save for candles illuminating it and the glimmer of gold antiques around the room reflecting the light.
People were moving, faces flashing against the light before disappearing into the darkness.
But they didn’t stumble over their steps or lose their footing.
They moved around each other in confidence, in booming laughs and conversations that didn’t push too loud over the music.
We enveloped into the crowd like a second skin, moving according to the plan we’d formed, separating for our respective tasks.
Ajax was the one to consider pairing up based on strengths and weaknesses.
Marigold and August would be too easy to spot, their status making them stand out at a Fenlon Society event. Besides, August and Marigold’s jobs were of importance once we caught the mouse.
I watched Wolf approach two boys I had later placed names to their faces.
Ratticus Willoughby and Herman Kline.
How utterly horrid to form around the tongue.
They were Scott’s friends and we couldn’t very well have them watching as we led him away.
Paris and I walked quietly, barely speaking until she decided to break the silence. I almost hadn’t heard her, her voice drowned out by all the other noise, “Tonight should be eventful.”
I ran a hand over my hair and continued to look around. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
I passed Ajax with a barely-there nod of acknowledgement, my eyes moving around the crowd to find that everyone I laid eyes on were lost within their own kindred spirits.
When we reached the far wall of the observatory, Rain seemed to appear from thin air as Paris moved back into the throng of students.
At first, I hadn’t known why Ajax demanded I be here when I could have very well waited in the parlour alongside August and Marigold.
But I watched from afar as he seemed to gesture towards me every now and then with every new group that he passed.
I tensed.
What are you doing, Ajax?
As if the looks might burn, I turned my head away, focusing my attention elsewhere.
We had all seemed to have spotted Scott Kensington without issue.
His football jacket cockily splaying his name, S.
Kensington, across its back. He had his head bowed next to his brother and they both looked horrible in their own way.
While Scott was drunk and giddy, King looked exhausted and paranoid.
He kept glancing nervously over his shoulder and digging his fingers into Scott’s arm, most likely trying to convey the severity of the situation as his twin brother tried to walk away.
They didn’t quarrel for long.
Only a few moments before King seemed to throw in the towel and turned away.
We watched as Scott moved around the room, clearly too intoxicated to notice Ajax close in and whisper something in his ear with an overconfident smirk.
And his brother was too paranoid to notice Rain approaching him.
We may have had to hide in the shadows, but Rain was still student body president and that was something we wouldn’t be passing up on using.
I could see her chastising the size of the party, rambling with big and long words about the concept she’d been approached to approve, and the reality of it. King seemed lost and frustrated.
From there, it was pretty easy.
So far, everything seemed to go according to plan.
With King occupied, Paris slipped out of the observatory with a flirty smile back at Scott, who happened to take Ajax’s words for truth.
I watched with pursed lips as I recalled Paris’ vehement refusal to entertain such an idea, only to propose it when we were stuck on how to lure him out of the observatory after I tried dissuading her from coming.
Wolf huffed out a breath as he made his way over to me. “I’ve seen Scott with plenty of girls, who would have thought he was this persuadable.”
I let out a sound of agreement and went to follow the pair, Wolf treading on my heels at a distance.
“Listen, Kensington, I am willing to let this pass and choose not to direct this situation to the Dean–”
I walked through the crowd, passing Rain before she fell out of earshot, and out the door.
I was supposed to wait for Wolf, but I couldn’t, moving down the stairs and into the room that closely resembled the student lounge, this one with a door.
There, I found Scott had barely said a word—as slurred as it was going to come out—to Paris, who stood at the far wall, looking out the window with a careless expression, before I lunged for him and tackled him to the ground.
My heartbeat spiked at the sudden movement, but I held fast, having the element of surprise.
It didn’t take long for Wolf and August to join me.
Together, we strongarmed him into one of the chairs.
When he tried screaming for help, August held his hand against the boy’s mouth to silence him, and Wolf pulled out the rope and cloth Marigold had brought along.
It didn’t take long to have him bound and silenced, though he was crying and trying to speak around the barrier over his mouth.